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For the first time about such a breed of horses as a draft horse, they started talking in Europe in the Middle Ages during the era of knightly tournaments. Ordinary horses could not withstand the knights with multi-kilogram armor, and then destrie horses were withdrawn, and already muscular tractors were brought out to replace them. Later, they began to be used mainly as a labor force in agriculture, although there are still fans of riding this particular breed of horses. Some types of heavy trucks are also used in productive animal husbandry, that is, for obtaining milk and meat. And although a heavy truck is much slower than a regular horse, it definitely does not hold stamina and reliability.
Heavy Drafts: Horse Breeds
Draft horses are the strongest horses. Hundreds of such breeds have been bred in the world, but only a few of them received the vocation:
Belgian Heavy Duty (Brabancon)
These horses could be bred in Belgium at the end of the 19th century, using the Flanders and Ardennes varieties as a basis. These are hardy horse-tractors, rather small among heavy draft horses (160 cm and higher at the withers). The most common colors are red and bay, sometimes with separate white hairs in the hair of the usual color, that is, "roan".
Belgian heavy-duty
Australian heavy draft
In ancient times, there were no special heavy draft horses in Australia; ordinary horses were used to transport various kinds of goods. However, they quickly got tired, could not bear the exorbitant loads and had a hard time coping with the atypical Australian climate. And only during the colonization of Australia, foreigners brought a unique species to the continent - a heavy draft horse, thus contributing to the beginning of selection developments in the country.
Shire
Bred in France, this breed is considered one of the most massive heavy draft horses. However, despite its ancient origins, the breed has many different variations. Representatives of the Shire breed can be either huge (often exceeding a weight of 1300 kg and a height of 190 cm at the withers), withstanding heavy power loads, and very small, suitable only for light walks.
Outwardly, these muscular horses are also diverse, but more often they have a bald head and snow-white "stockings", usually only on their hind legs.
Percheron
The birthplace of the Percherons, as the name implies, is the small settlement of Perche, located in Normandy. It is rather difficult to determine from whom these horses originated, it is only known that among their distant ancestors were eastern mares, mostly Arab. It is believed that this breed was finally formed only in the 19th century. It was then that breeding work began to improve the external and physical qualities of Percherons.
Percheron
Modern Percherons amaze with their harmonious physique with rather massive parameters. Their weight is over 130 kg, and their body length is about 170 cm.Also, such horses have a rather long life expectancy - more than 25 years, which is quite a lot for their size.
Irish heavy truck
The Irish breed of draft horse is famous for its calm and docile nature, which makes it indispensable for field work. This is a real heavyweight horse, the endurance of which allows it to carry even the most heavy loads.
The Irish draft horse has a predominantly monochromatic color, but sometimes foals are born with small specks, which does not in any way indicate the purity of the breed. The back of the "Irish" is straight, not curving with a sloping back. The tail goes up when the horse is active for a long time. The fore and hind legs are large and heavy, the hooves are thick, but they are especially sensitive.
Irish heavy truck
French heavy trucks of Boulogne
This is perhaps the most elegant draft horse you can come across. Because of this gracefulness, which is completely not inherent in heavy horses, the Boulogne breed was refused to be recognized until the 17th century. In fact, these draft horses appeared much earlier, back in the time of Rome, which makes them one of the oldest varieties of the most powerful horses.
The growth of the Boulogne is small - only 150-160 cm. These are truly small heavy trucks. However, despite their small size, these horses are quite hardy, tolerate long distances well and are ideal for transporting riders.
Unfortunately, such a breed as the heavy draft horse of Boulogne almost disappeared during the First and Second World Wars, when it was used not only for transporting the military, but also as food on especially hungry days.
French heavy trucks of Boulogne
Domestic breeds
Among Russian breeders there is something to boast about to foreigners:
Vladimirskaya heavy
This horse breed was bred in the Vladimir region. To obtain it, breeders crossed heavy draft breeds brought from Europe. Initially, the purpose of breeding was to improve the quality of European breeds, but as a result they got a completely new one, which became a huge achievement for domestic breeding.
However, this breed has significant disadvantages. For example, a long and narrow back, which reduces the horse's stamina, and a narrow chest, which makes it difficult to breathe under heavy loads.
The weight of the Vladimir heavy truck is about 700 kg, which is almost 2 times less than its European counterparts. This type of horse fully justifies its low weight. They are obedient, calm, ideal for equestrian sports and horse racing, and quickly adapt to any conditions of detention. At first, horses, like any other species, can show character, but a weasel and a kind word can make these huge draft horses real friends of man.
Russian heavy
This horse breed is famous, perhaps, for its unpretentiousness. She is capable of performing enormous physical activities and at the same time is not demanding on the conditions of detention and food. Unlike other heavy trucks, which mainly serve a person to transport cargo, Russian heavy draft horses can also produce dairy products, and in rather large quantities. Horse milk is used for the production of a special drink - kumis, as well as for the production of cheeses.
Russian heavy
The appearance of such mares is quite typical: a short, muscular neck, a large, wide forehead, a thick mane and massive, stable limbs.
Bityug
Bityug is a draft horse, which was bred at the turn of 18 in Russian peasants, originating from the Voronezh district.This breed was obtained as a result of a series of crosses between the heavy breeds then available in Russia, as well as foreign horses, which Peter Peter brought to St. Petersburg from all over the world.
The Bityugs were of great importance for Russia in those years, they greatly facilitated peasant labor in the fields. But, despite this, this breed had a number of significant disadvantages, including thin legs, weak back and insufficiently developed muscles.
At the end of the 19th century. the number of representatives of this breed began to decline sharply. This was due to the reduction in the area of land on which fodder crops were grown. Horses spent a lot of time in stables, not doing physical activity, and eating food unsuitable for their physiology.
Despite the abundance of technology, in the modern world, heavy trucks still mean a lot. They are used on farms as carriers of heavy loads, they are indispensable in equestrian sports, horseback riding, as well as productive livestock raising: obtaining milk and meat.
